With the cold, there are roads that become extremely dangerous due to the appearance of ice plates, and there the chemistry enters to solve it. Since time immemorial salt is used so that there is no ice, and thus driving it is safer. But there is a counterpart that is very important, especially in those areas where a lot of salt is required: the ecosystem is finished with devastating consequences.
As salt dissolves, it is able to change the balance of the ecosystem, as revealed by a study published by Science of the Total Enviroment. This study analyzes the impact that salt has on the retention basins, the structures that avoid floods due to rain and differ from the expansion basins, in which the latter are only filled in case of excess water.
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The retention basins have seen salinity increased significantly
The retention basins are those small ponds that we see disseminated at different points, and that are usually surrounded by vegetation. Well, these are the first to be affected, as the study demonstrates. Those who are closest to the roads have more directly affected their salinity. And when salinity increases above a point, problems to the whole environment begin to appear, affecting both flora and fauna.
In fact, the effect observed in vegetation states that of the 255 species analyzed, only 48 showed good salt resistance. The rest suffer damage that can be irreparable. But perhaps the key is in those 48 plants, and that is that the study considers that they can retain more salt, so they could be an alternative.
Likewise, it is not viable to populate all road environments in this way, so the challenge is capital. But for now, salt is the best remedy to avoid ice plates accidents. A counterpart that, at least for now, will continue to affect ecosystems.
